1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for removing matter adhered to a member to be cleaned, and an image forming apparatus having such a cleaning apparatus. The member to be cleaned may be a transfer drum or an electrophotographic photosensitive member, for example. Further, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus serves to form an image on a recording medium by using electrophotographic process and may be an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer, a word processor or a facsimile machine, for example.
2. Related Background Art
In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, an electrophotographic photosensitive member uniformly charged by a charger is exposed in response to image information, thereby forming a latent image on the photosensitive member. The latent image formed on the photosensitive member is developed as a visible toner image. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive member is transferred onto a recording medium, thereby recording an image on the recording medium.
In such apparatuses, after the toner image was transferred, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member is removed by a cleaning apparatus. The cleaning apparatus may be of magnet brush type wherein the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member is collected by a magnetic force of a magnet housed in a sleeve of blade type wherein the residual toner is scraped and collected by urging a rubber blade against the surface of the photosensitive member, or of fur brush type wherein the residual toner is collected by absorbing the toner on tip ends of fine fibers of a rotating brush with a friction-charged force.
The present invention relates to the improvement in the above-mentioned cleaning apparatus. Incidentally, in the above example, while the toner remaining on the photosensitive member was removed by the cleaning apparatus, the present invention can be applied to cleaning apparatuses for removing matters adhered to a transfer drum, for example.